Question:Is one allowed to tie wet shoelaces on Shabbos? Introduction: Regarding squeezing liquids out of fabric (sechitah) on Shabbos there are two considerations: meleches dosh and meleches libbun. The melocho of dosh is applicable when one is interested in the liquid being extracted, and the melocho of libbun is applicable when one is interested in removing excess water from fabric, for the purpose of the fabric. According to some Rishonim the melocho of libbun also applies when one squeezes out other liquids from fabric (c.f. Bi’ur Halocho Siman 320 d.h. “yesh mi shematir”). Discussion: Squeezing water out of shoelaces is not a melocho of dosh, because the water being squeezed out will not be collected (“dosh v’holech l’ibud”). The consideration here is because of meleches libbun: Squeezing water out of fabric is forbidden on Shabbos because of libbun, and even though the person tying his shoelaces has no intention to squeeze water out of the laces, if it is an inevitable consequence that water will be squeezed while tying, this action should be forbidden because of p’sik reishe of libbun. The Me’or HaShabbos (Volume 4, page 586) quotes Rav Yisroel Ya’akov Fisher who ruled that it is permitted to tie wet shoelaces on Shabbos, and one is not required to wait until they have dried. The Me’or HaShabbos offers two explanations for this leniency: Firstly, the Ran in Shabbos (quoted in Bi’ur Halocho Siman 320) discussing inserting a stopper into a barrel, writes that there is no concern of libbun because “this is not the way that one performs libbun”. I.e., the sechita is being performed in an unusual way (kilachar yad). Based on this, the Me’or HaShabbos suggests that tying shoelaces is also an unusual way of squeezing water out of shoelaces, therefore even if done with intent, this would not constitute an issur min hatorah according to the Ran. Secondly, the Me’or HaShabbos quotes the Graz (Siman 320 Kuntres Acharon) who writes that according to the Smag unintentional libbun on a small area of a garment is permitted. The Graz explains that even though regarding issurim even chatzi shi’ur is forbidden min hatorah, here since there is no significance to laundering a small area on a large garment, if it is also unintentional it is permitted. Although the Me’or HaShabbos does not mention the following, it should be stressed that we are discussing a situation of p’sik reishe (i.e. an inevitable consequence and not a direct intentional action) where the person has no interest in the result (“lo ichpas lei”), and a p’sik reishe d’lo ichpas lei is not forbidden min hatorah. It could also be suggested that since the squeezing is a p’sik reishe d’lo ichpas lei of a melocho d’rabonon (namely kilachar yad according to the Ran) it is permitted in a situation of necessity, as we find in the Mishna Berura (Siman 321 s.k. 57). |
Shabbos
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